January 30, 2009

Amazon: In the Zone.

And how nice for you. Americans do "small" pretty well; we've raised it to an art form in some circles and regions. But certainly we are more attractive when we enter the No Schadenfreude Zone. Amazon, the nation's largest online retailer, is doing quite well, thank you, according to the The Seattle Times late yesterday:

NEW YORK — Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 9 percent and easily surpassed analysts' forecasts. Those results, plus an optimistic forecast, sent its shares soaring 13 percent in extended trading.

Amazon had called the holiday season its "best ever," and the earnings report backed up the idea that the online retailer is not being seriously hurt by cutbacks in consumer spending. Amazon said its revenue in the current quarter should be between $4.53 billion and $4.93 billion, while analysts are expecting $4.57 billion. [more]